The invention relates to crimping devices used to crimp the ends of paper wrappers or tubes for rolls of coins or other objects.
Coin wrappers are paper tubes having a finished crimp at one end of the tube and an opposite open end. Coins are inserted in a wrapper through the open end of the tube to form a stack of coins. The coin stack abuts the crimped end of the wrapper to prevent the coins from falling out the wrapper as the wrapper is being filled.
A coin wrapper is designed to hold a specific number of coins of like denomination. When the coin wrapper is filled, the open end of the tube projects beyond the coin stack. The projecting wrapper portion is then manually folded over the coin stack to secure the coin stack in the wrapper.
Many coin collectors dislike the appearance of coin wrappers having a manually folded end. These collectors would prefer that both ends of the wrapper have finished crimped ends.
Powered crimping machines are available to crimp the projecting ends of coin wrappers. Such machines include a rotary head typically holding one or more pair of concave, xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d-shaped hooks. The head rotates the hooks about the projecting end of the wrapper and presses the hooks against the end of the wrapper. The concave surface of each hook defines a curved sliding surface. The end of the wrapper slides on these concave surfaces and is rolled over to form a finished crimp.
Powered crimping machines are too expensive for most coin collectors. A rotary head must be purchased for each denomination of coin wrapper, and the curved slide surfaces of the hooks are expensive to manufacture. The machines require periodic maintenance and can be expensive to repair.
Thus, there is a need for an improved device for crimping the ends of filled coin wrappers. The improved device should be inexpensive, easy to use and not require maintenance.
The invention is an improved crimper for forming finished crimped ends on coin wrappers. The crimper has no moving parts and is inexpensive to manufacture. It is easy to use and requires no maintenance. The crimper makes it feasible for the individual coin collector to store coins in coin wrappers having finished crimped ends on both ends of the wrappers.
A crimper in accordance with the present invention has a body having a cylindrical opening for receiving a projecting end of a wrapper into the body. The opening extending along an axis from an open end and is defined by a wall configured to closely surround the outer surface of a projecting end of a wrapper.
A crimping structure is located in the opening for crimping the projecting end of the wrapper inserted into the opening. The crimping structure includes a first slide surface for sliding the wrapper of the paper in a first linear direction and a second slide surface for sliding the wrapper paper in a second linear direction transverse to the first direction. The first slide surface is spaced axially from the open end of the opening and extends from the opening wall into the opening towards the second slide surface. The second slide surface is adjacent the first slide surface and extends axially away from the first slide surface towards the open end of the opening.
When the first slide surface is pressed against the end of the wrapper, the end of the wrapper is forced to slide against the first slide surface to the second slide surface. The end of the wrapper then slides axially against the second slide surface towards the open end of the opening. Because the two slide surfaces are substantially perpendicular to each other, the end of the wrapper is forced to roll towards the coin stack and thereby form a rolled crimped end on the wrapper. The crimper is rotated about the axis when pressing the first slide surface against the end of the wrapper to form a crimped end extending around the entire circumference of the wrapper.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, the crimping structure includes two or more first slide surfaces angularly spaced apart from one another. Each first slide surface is a convex surface. The second slide surface is also a convex surface and forms part of an outer wall of a cylindrical projection in the opening.
When the first slide surfaces are pressed against the projecting end of the coin wrapper, the convex surfaces of the first and second slide surfaces in effect make line contact with the wrapper paper. This concentrates the force applied by the slide surfaces against the wrapper paper and causes the paper to deform and roll more easily. The spaced apart first slide surfaces enable the entire circumference of the end of the wrapper to engage a first slide surface multiple times with each rotation of the crimper to form a very smooth finished crimped end. The projection engages the coin stack when the first slide surfaces are near the coin stack to ensure that the newly crimped end of the wrapper is rolled firmly against the coin stack to secure the coins in the wrapper.
The linear slide surfaces are inexpensive to manufacture. The crimper can be formed as an integral, homogeneous, one piece plastic article using conventional molding techniques. Such a crimper is compact and light weight. The body can have a plurality of faces, each face having an opening and associated crimping structure for crimping different denominations of coin wrappers. For example, the body can be formed as a cube having six faces and openings for one dollar, half-dollar, quarter, dime, nickel and penny coin wrappers.
Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, of which there are three sheets of drawings and three embodiments.